Being a good communicator

“Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organisations and their publics” (Yann, 2015).

Communication is the basis of PR and it is vital for PR professionals to practise professional communication at all times. During my internship I learnt the importance of this, to always be polite yet assertive. PR professionals should always practise good etiquette, whether it be by email, phone call or in person. 

The majority of the tasks I completed included the art of communication. Whether it was making follow up phone calls or ringing companies to find contact details, it was vital that I positively portrayed PPR and spoke with good etiquette, at times I was even given a script to ensure this.

One of my major tasks during my internship was to do a media pitch. This included ringing Coles team members who were soon to be celebrating an important milestone such as they’re 50^th anniversary with Coles. I would call the store, and ask to speak with a manager; it was essential to receive the store manager’s permission before speaking to the team member. I would then introduce myself and explain that I was calling on behalf of PPR, and that we are in charge of Cole’s corporate affairs. I would then seek their permission for a brief interview over the phone and ask their permission for the story to be run in the local paper and if they would be comfortable having their photo taken.

It was really important to bring this PR personality, and to make the interviewee feel comfortable. It is also very important to make sure all the facts are right (fact verification) and names spelt correctly. People would often refuse the interview, so it was important to practise polite phone etiquette. After making the interviewee feel comfortable and making them feel like it wasn't an interview, they often loosened up and began just to chat with me, and that’s how I got the best responses and wrote an effective media pitch. See below for my media pitch! 

Communication is everything, and it is essential in PR. My internship at PPR taught me how to effectively communicate with stakeholders and how to be polite, get key messages across and practise etiquette all at the same time as well as the importance of fact verification.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygcav6X1d_4

I found the above video to be a funny, light-hearted video that shows how communication is the basis of PR.  

That's all for now!

Greta x